Business Development Specialist-Wisconsin Reading Center

UW School of Medicine and Public Health; Madison (WI); Hybrid; USD 54,000 - 66,000; Part time

Benefits offered by this job

Generous leave

Insurance

Retirement benefits

Savings accounts

Job summary

UW School of Medicine and Public Health’s Wisconsin Reading Center seeks a Procurement Specialist III to manage budgets, negotiate contracts, and develop fee-for-service agreements for ophthalmology imaging studies. The role interfaces with investigators, sponsors, CROs, and research teams to ensure timely, compliant procurements.

Remote work is supported with on-site presence once a quarter. Strong Excel, analytical, and communication skills are essential, along with experience in contracting

Qualifications

• Attention to detail
• Advanced Excel skills
• Clear verbal and written communication
• Strong budgeting, bidding, and income forecasting

Responsibilities

• Implements reporting protocols with suppliers to measure cost savings and risk mitigation
• Prepares and disseminates business cases; proposes strategic sourcing and programs
• Answers questions and provides guidance on commodities and services
• Drafts and communicates outcomes of procurement requests
• Leads supplier research to assess market options and make recommendations
• Prepares business cases to reduce costs using data analytics
• Develops complex solicitations compliant with regulatory requirements
• Uses national indexes and vendor data to support category strategies
• Maintains bid records to meet documentation requirements
• Acts as primary contact to external stakeholders and negotiates prices

Skills

Attention to detail

Advanced Excel

Communication skills

Financial & analytical skills

Education

Bachelor's degree preferred; 6 years experience in lieu

Tools

Smartsheet

Power BI

Tableau

Job description

Current Employees: If you are currently employed at any of the Universities of Wisconsin, log in to Workday to apply through the internal application process.

Job Category

Academic Staff

Employment Type

Terminal (Fixed Term)

Job Profile

Procurement Specialist III

Job Summary

The Wisconsin Reading Center is a core imaging laboratory that works with sponsors (pharmaceutical, camera, and research) on Ophthalmology eye imaging. The incumbent will work directly with investigators, sponsors, Clinical research organizations (CRO), and research teams to prepare and negotiate budgets and contracts. This incumbent will help with business development for the Wisconsin Reading Center. The role will work with sponsors on non-disclosure agreements, create complex bids for potential studies, and develop fee‑for‑service agreements to submit for legal review. The position will review all billing, both internal and external before processing with finance. Candidates must feel comfortable in a timeline-driven role, be self-motivated, and be highly detail-oriented with excellent organizational skills. This position interacts with many different teams and customers and assists in identifying and implementing quality process improvements to ensure that processes are efficient and timely.

• It is anticipated that this position will be remote and requires work be performed at an offsite, non‑campus work location.
• This position has the possibility to be extended or converted to an ongoing appointment based on need and/or funding.

Why Join Us?

This position offers remote work with the requirement to be on‑site once a quarter on designated days. We provide flexible work schedules, comprehensive benefits, and professional development. Our team is passionate about making a positive impact on eye disease, and we are looking for individuals who share that commitment.

Travel Expectations

It is required that employees come to Madison, WI on predefined dates. It will be the employee's responsibility to cover expenses for this trip.

Working Conditions

There could be occasional night and weekend events.

Key Job Responsibilities

• Implements required reporting protocols with suppliers to allow measurement of cost savings, reduction, avoidance, supplier management, and risk mitigation programs and strategies
• Prepares and disseminates business cases to appropriate audiences, proposes strategic sourcing, and authors programs to stakeholders and institutional leadership
• Answers questions and provides guidance regarding specific commodities and service areas to various individuals and groups based on set materials or standards
• Drafts, submits, and communicates outcomes of procurement requests to suppliers, stakeholders, and institutional leadership
• Leads and executes the research of suppliers to understand available products and services, assesses market conditions, identifies supply options, and makes recommendations
• Prepares and disseminates business cases to reduce costs using data analytics and dashboard tools
• Leads the development of complex solicitations requiring creative approaches to evaluation of third party sourcing options in compliance with regulatory requirements
• Leverages national indexes, peer information, vendor information, sales data, and subject matter experts to support development of category strategies
• Establishes and maintains bid and proposal records to comply with record‑keeping requirements
• Serves as primary point of contact to external stakeholders, maintains contracts, and negotiates purchase prices to obtain timely and meaningful contract sourcing results

Department: School of Medicine and Public Health, Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, Wisconsin Reading Center.

The Wisconsin Reading Center (WRC) is a core retinal image reading lab within the University of Wisconsin-Madison Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences (DOVS). The WRC was founded on the enduring principles of intellectual honesty, quality, relevance, innovation, and staff satisfaction. Incepted in 1970 to support the seminal NIH‑funded trials of laser treatment for diabetic retinopathy (DR), the WRC has broadened its scope to the evaluation of many retinal diseases, including dry AMD, atrophic AMD, neovascular AMD, DME, retinal vein occlusion, posterior uveitis, inherited retinal disease, AIDS‑related ocular disease, and cataract.

Compensation

The starting salary/hourly wage for the position is $60,000 annually; but is negotiable based on experience and qualifications.

Employees in this position can expect to receive benefits such as generous vacation, holidays, and sick leave; competitive insurances and savings accounts; retirement benefits. For more information, refer to the campus benefits webpage.

• SMPH Faculty /Academic Staff Benefits Flyer 2026

Required Qualifications

• Attention to detail
• Advanced Excel Skills
• Communication skills such as active listening, clear verbal and written communication, and adapting to various communication styles
• Strong Financial and Analytical skills with budgeting, bidding, and predicting income

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with sponsor relationship building
• Experience in contract negotiation and management
• Experience in dashboards such as Smartsheet, Power Bi, or Tableau
• Experience with clinical trials, such as reading protocols
• Experience in business development

Education

Bachelor's Degree preferred; focus in business, finance, or healthcare administration. Six (6) years of relevant professional experience may be considered in lieu of a bachelor's degree.

University sponsorship is not available for this position, including transfers of sponsorship and TN visas. The selected applicant will be responsible for ensuring their continuous eligibility to work in the United States (i.e. a citizen or national of the United States, a lawful permanent resident, a foreign national authorized to work in the United States without the need of an employer sponsorship) on or before the effective date of appointment. If you are selected for this position you must provide proof of work authorization and eligibility to work. The department will not be able to support a request for a J‑1 waiver. If you choose to pursue a waiver and apply for our position, neither the UW nor UWMF will reimburse you for your legal or waiver fees.

Beth Reuter, [e-mail], 608-263-3680

Relay Access (WTRS): 7-1-1. See RELAY_SERVICE for further information.

Institutional Statement on Diversity

Diversity is a source of strength, creativity, and innovation for UW‑Madison. We value the contributions of each person and respect the profound ways their identity, culture, background, experience, status, abilities, and opinion enrich the university community. We commit ourselves to the pursuit of excellence in teaching, research, outreach, and diversity as inextricably linked goals.

The University of Wisconsin‑Madison fulfills its public mission by creating a welcoming and inclusive community for people from every background - people who as students, faculty, and staff serve Wisconsin and the world.

The University of Wisconsin‑Madison is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to, including but not limited to, race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, age, pregnancy, disability, or status as a protected veteran and other bases as defined by federal regulations and UW System policies. We promote excellence by acknowledging skills and expertise from all backgrounds and encourage all qualified individuals to apply. For more information regarding applicant and employee rights and to view federal and state required postings, visit the Human Resources Workplace Poster website.

To request a disability or pregnancy-related accommodation for any step in the hiring process (e.g., application, interview, pre-employment testing, etc.), please contact the Divisional Disability Representative (DDR) in the division you are applying to. Please make your request as soon as possible to help the university respond most effectively to you.

Employment may require a criminal background check. It may also require your references to answer questions regarding misconduct, including sexual violence and sexual harassment.

The University of Wisconsin System will not reveal the identities of applicants who request confidentiality in writing, except that the identity of the successful candidate will be released. See Wis. Stat. sec. 19.36(7).

The Annual Security and Fire Safety Report contains current campus safety and disciplinary policies, crime statistics for the previous 3 calendar years, and on‑campus student housing fire safety policies and fire statistics for the previous 3 calendar years. UW‑Madison will provide a paper copy upon request; please contact the University of Wisconsin Police Department.